{"id":700,"date":"2014-09-24T18:05:37","date_gmt":"2014-09-25T01:05:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/?post_type=chapter&p=700"},"modified":"2019-05-04T08:27:14","modified_gmt":"2019-05-04T15:27:14","slug":"5-9-building-the-foundation-of-good-design","status":"publish","type":"chapter","link":"https:\/\/opentextbc.ca\/teachinginadigitalage\/chapter\/5-9-building-the-foundation-of-good-design\/","title":{"raw":"A.10 Building the foundation of good design","rendered":"A.10 Building the foundation of good design"},"content":{"raw":"\"Print\"\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3980\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"720\"]\"Figure<\/a> Figure A.10.1 A learning environment from a teacher's perspective[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\"Print\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nI have walked you through one possible learning environment. It is meant to be\u00a0an example, not a recommendation. It probably fits a post-secondary educational context better than a school context. For instance, in a school context,\u00a0play<\/em>\u00a0and\u00a0parents<\/em>\u00a0may be two other important components, again depending on your underlying epistemology and beliefs about teaching and learning.\r\n

A.10.1 Epistemology and learning environments<\/h2>\r\nWe all\u00a0come from different epistemological and philosophical positions about teaching and learning. This can be illustrated by two different metaphors. Some people see teaching and learning very much like the mining and transportation of coal. Knowledge is coal; it has to be mined (research) and then loaded and delivered (teaching). Learners are seen as buckets or railway wagons into which knowledge is delivered. Instructors are the shovels. In this process,\u00a0learners are\u00a0relatively passive in the sense that they do not transform the knowledge into something different. It is what it is.\r\n\r\n\"Print\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_476\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"456\"]\"\u00a9 Figure A.10.2 \u00a9 Barry Howard, University of Newcastle Cultural Collections[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\"Print\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nEven though I come from a coal mining family on my mother's side and a railway family on my father's, I see teaching and learning differently. I see it more as a garden, with learners as the plants. Thus a gardener tries their best to\u00a0create an ecological environment where plants grow and develop, by ensuring that they have the right balance of light, soil, water, and that they are not damaged by weeds or insects.\u00a0I see learning as development and growth in individuals. My job as a teacher is to provide the best possible environment in which learners can grow and develop.\r\n\r\n\"Print\"<\/a>\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_477\" align=\"aligncenter\" width=\"460\"]\"My Figure A.10.3 My garden[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\"Print\"<\/a>\r\n\r\nSimilarly, teachers and instructors need to conceive and put in place a learning environment where students can grow and develop their own learning. Knowledge is not static, but grows and develops in learners.\u00a0In particular, in a digital age, learning means developing skills as well as accumulating content. Thus the learning environment I have described\u00a0reflects my more constructivist and 'nurturing' approach to teaching.\r\n\r\nEven if you come from a different epistemological position though and see knowledge and learning in a different way, or are teaching in a very different context from post-secondary education, it still helps to look at all the components that need to be considered for effective learning, and how those should be configured. It is also worth remembering that in\u00a0a digital age, our learning environment is no longer bounded by bricks and mortar. Technology allows us to create different and more flexible\u00a0environments for encouraging learning.\r\n

A.10.2 Necessary but not sufficient<\/h2>\r\nThus as a teacher or instructor, you are\u00a0in a better position to think about how you\u00a0are going to design and implement a course or program if you\u00a0already have in mind all the necessary components of a learning environment, taking into account new learning needs, changing learner characteristics, and the new technologies now available. The components of a learning environment provide\u00a0a kind of check list in terms of what has to be considered when designing and delivering a program.\u00a0Analysing all the necessary components that go to make an effective learning environment provides you with a strong foundation around which to design your teaching.\r\n\r\nIt should be noted though that even once the main components have been identified, you\u00a0will still need to make many decisions about how those components will be designed and delivered. \u00a0Even with such a strong conceptual foundation, you still have to implement it; in other words, you still have to design your teaching.\r\n
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Activity A.10 Designing your own learning environment<\/h3>\r\n